The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

Food isn't cheap.
Want proof? Then chew on this: I spent almost $12,000 in groceries last year for my four-person family, including two teenagers.
And what's really scary is that I work very hard to keep my food bill as low as possible every ...

Financial freedom can be a difficult term to define, but at a very basic level it simply means controlling your own finances entirely.
In order to gain financial freedom, you have to be free of debt, able to provide for yourself, and able to ...

Roughly 3 in 10 people now borrow money from their 401(k) retirement plans. Generally, you can borrow half your account balance -- up to $50,000 -- for as long as five years. True, it's among the cheapest loans available because the interest rate is ...

Yesterday I did something I rarely ever do: I threw all caution to the wind and, as a result, I made the biggest spur-of-the-moment purchase of my entire life.
Believe it or not, I spent $2462.35 on a pair of tickets to see a hockey game.
Yep; ...

Last month, Canada announced it would no longer mint pennies. That makes a lot of sense; perhaps America should follow suit. In 1913 the once-proud penny had 23 times the purchasing power it does now. Today, the penny is essentially worthless, its ...

Last summer my 12-year-old daughter, Nina, was extolling the fashion virtues of her hot pink Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star high-top sneakers, better known to many as simply, "Chucks."
What I found amusing was while Nina really thought she was on ...

There are people out there who swear that if you're lucky enough to see the first flower of springtime on a Friday, it's a sign of impending wealth.
I know. I don't buy it either.
Still, let's assume these folks know what they're talking about; ...

As the old saying goes, knowledge is power.
When it comes to tracking personal finances, one of the most important pieces of information in you can have in your knowledge database is a detailed summary that highlights where your household income ...

Ever since the Great Depression, central bankers have, curiously, striven to avoid deflation at all costs. But benign price deflation caused by increases in productivity -- as opposed to "bad" deflation caused by a reduction in money supply -- leads ...

I'm once again pleased to present another guest post from my good friend, Paula Pant of Afford Anything — the blog that believes money should never hinder your dreams. If you get a chance, stop by her site and check it out -- you won't be ...

This guest post is from Paula Pant of Afford Anything, the blog that believes money should never hinder your dreams.
I have a confession. Normally I spend a lot of time emphasizing the importance of cultivating habits that reduce your desire to ...

People often use the terms "rainy day fund" and "emergency savings" interchangeably when they are really two completely different forms of personal finance insurance. A rainy day fund is meant to help you weather short-term, relatively low-impact ...

I recently shared my latest supermarket misadventure where I had the misfortune of getting behind a nice lady who paid for her groceries with a giant bag of quarters.
I used that little episode to talk about about the benefits of Coinstar and why ...

True, not everybody needs a budget to successfully manage their personal finances. People who have minimal debt, pay off their credit cards in full each month, and have little trouble saving can often get by without one. For most folks, however, a ...

I've written before about my insatiable addiction to iTunes; it's one of the biggest money leaks I have to deal with on a monthly basis.
Believe it or not, some months I'll spend upwards of $100 on iTunes songs for my iPod, although I'm trying my ...

One of my favorite fables attributed to Aesop is The Ant and the Grasshopper. I mean, really; what's not to love?
You know the story; the grasshopper spends all summer long partying it up like a rock star while the ant prepares for the coming ...

At least I'm calling it a windfall. Let me explain.
You see, if I leave a twenty dollar bill in a winter jacket only to rediscover it after it has been hanging in the closet for nine months, that's a windfall.
Now I can hear a lot of you out ...

I hate it when I see people waste food.
I'm not sure why, but I've always been that way. Somebody who believes in reincarnation once told me that I probably starved to death in a past life. Okay.
Another pet peeve of mine is carelessly wasting ...

As I've previously mentioned, the Penzo household is in the middle of a long-awaited home renovation project with a reliable contractor.
Originally, it was supposed to be a fairly modest kitchen renovation that involved replacing our porcelain ...

Yes, school is right around the corner and the Honeybee is once again gearing up for another season of endless sandwich-making for the kids' brown bag lunches. She won't be alone.
Every day millions of people pack a sandwich or two to eat for ...

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This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and the content herein should not be mistaken for professional financial advice. Ultimately, you and you alone are responsible for the decisions you make in life, so please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your particular situation. This website accepts cash advertising, sponsorship, and other forms of compensation that may occasionally influence advertising content or topics of discussion.